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Adobo Chicken and Seasoned Rice

Recipe and picture courtesy of Bobby Flay (Throwdown with Bobby Flay) Food Network.

This recipe may look difficult, but it is actually pretty easy to put together. There are just A LOT of ingredients. It is very delicious!

2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 teaspoons granulated garlic
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons granulated onion
1 teaspoon paprika
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
4 chicken thighs, with skin, cut in 1/2
4 chicken breasts, with skin, cut in 1/2 lengthwise
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large Spanish onion, finely diced
1 medium green bell pepper, finely diced
1 medium red bell pepper, finely diced
About 1/3 cup tomato powder or 1 to 2 plum tomatoes, seeded and finely diced
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3 cups long-grain rice
4 3/4 cups homemade chicken stock
1 bay leaf
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup frozen peas (not thawed)
3/4 cup pimento stuffed green olives
3/4 cup pitted picholine olives
Freshly chopped cilantro leaves
Freshly chopped flat-leaf parsley
Finely chopped fresh oregano leaves
Squeeze lime juice

Mix together the salt, granulated garlic, cumin, granulated onion, paprika, black pepper, turmeric and oregano in a small bowl. Season both sides of the chicken pieces with salt and pepper and then season with the adobo seasoning mixture.
Heat a few tablespoons of oil in a large Dutch oven over high heat. Place the chicken in the oil skin side down, in batches, if necessary, and saute until golden brown. Turn the chicken over and cook until the second side is golden brown. Remove the chicken to into a separate pot, cover and allow to cook through and keep warm.

Remove all but 2 tablespoons of oil from the pan and place back over high heat. Add the onions, green and red peppers and cook until soft. Add the tomato powder, garlic and cook for 1 minute.

Add the rice to the pan, stir to coat the rice in the mixture and cook for 1 minute. Add the chicken stock, bay leaf, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Stir well, cover, reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes.

After 10 minutes add the peas to the pot, cover and continue cooking until the rice is tender and the chicken is cooked through, about 8 minutes.

Remove the pot from the heat and let sit 5 minutes covered. Remove the lid, fluff the rice and gently fold in the olives, cilantro, parsley, oregano and squeeze of lime juice. Add the chicken and stir to combine.

Jessica's Marshmallow Clouds

These are some of my favorite cookies! They are so fun to make and taste yummy!

Makes - 3 ½ dozen cookies

Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup white sugar
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1 cup salted butter, softened
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 (12 ounce) cups miniature semisweet chocolate chips
8 ounces miniature marshmallows, frozen

Directions
1 Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
2 Until you are ready to assemble the cookies just prior to baking, keep the marshmallows in the freezer- otherwise they will thaw too rapidly.
3 Place the marshmallows back into the freezer between each batch of cookies.
4 In a medium bowl combine flour, cocoa and baking soda.
5 Set aside.
6 Combine sugars in a large bowl.
7 Using an electric mixer, blend in butter, scraping down the sides of the bowl.
8 Add eggs and vanilla, and beat at medium speed until light and fluffy.
9 Add the flour mixture and chocolate chips, and blend at a low speed until combined.
10 Batter will be very stiff.
11 Gather 4-5 frozen marshmallows in the palm of your hand and cover them with a heaping tablespoon of dough.
12 Wrap the dough around the marshmallows, completely encasing them and forming a 2-inch diameter ball.
13 Place balls on ungreased baking sheets, 2 inches apart.
14 Bake 8 to 10 minutes.
15 Cool on pan 2 minutes, then transfer to a cool flat surface.

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

We were watching Barefoot Contessa on the food network and Ina Garten was making these cupcakes. They looked so yummy we decided to make them. The ingredients are simple and the cupcakes are so easy to make. Having the butter and eggs at room temperature is very important. Also do not overmix or overbake. These cupcakes are very moist and the ganache is delicious. Enjoy!

Chocolate Ganache Cupcakes

1/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 (16-ounce) can chocolate syrup (recommended Hershey's)

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

1 cup all-purpose flour

For the ganache:

1/2 cup heavy cream

8 ounces good semisweet chocolate chips

candied violets, for decorations, optional

Line muffin pans with 12 paper liners (we didn't use liners, it's up to you). Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.

Cream the butter and sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in the chocolate syrup and vanilla. Add the flour and mix until just combined. Don't overbeat, or the cupcakes will be tough.

Scoop the batter into the muffin cups and bake for 30 minutes, or until just set in the middle. Don't overbake! Let the cupcakes cool thoroughly in the pan.

For the ganache, cook the heavy cream and chocolate chips in the top of a double boiler over simmering water until smooth and warm, stirring occasionally.

Dip the top of each cupcake in the ganache. Decorate with candies, if desired. Do not refrigerate.

New Creation

I was in a store one day with my Mom and I saw these really yummy looking cookies...at least that's what I thought they were. So I walked closer, and to my surprise, I had a yummy food with my name. They were "Brookies."

"They're not just a brownie...They're not just a cookie...They're a brookie!"

So I decided to try and make them at home. So here they are...Brooke's Brookies! They are really yummy. And you can tell the difference between the brownie and the cookie.

Yummy Fruit Salad

1 lg box cook n' serve vanilla pudding
1 lg box strawberry Jell-o
4 c. water
1 medium container of heavy whipping cream
3 cups fruit

Bring to boil (low) pudding and water. Add jello to pudding, continue at low boil until thickens. Chill in fridge for 2-3 hours. Whip heavy whipping cream on highest setting until thick. Add to chilled jello, mix well. Add fruit.

Beef Taco Skillet

1 lb. ground beef

1 can tomato soup

1/2 cup favorite salsa

1/2 cup water

6 flour tortillas, cut into 1-inch pieces

1/2 cup shredded cheese

Cook the beef until well browned, stirring to break up the meat. Pour off any fat.

Stir in the soup, salsa, water and tortillas. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes. Stir. Top with cheese.

This is a quick meal and it's very tasty. I don't use as many flour tortillas as it calls for because we like to crush tortilla chips into ours. But that's just us. You can do as you please. This goes great with an ice cold pepsi. 

Enjoy.